Toy aeroplane



H. D. WELLS.

TOY AEROPLANE. APPLICATION man MAY 4. I922.

Patented Oct. 3, 1922* W/ 771/566 v //v ve/vra/v Unit. i922.

TOY AEROPLANE.

Application filed May ll, 1922. Serial No. 558,506.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I. I'IARBY D. WELLS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new, useful, and Improved Toy Aeroplane, of which the following is a specification.

In toy aero iilancs heretofore designed it has been necessary for the purchaser or operator to adjust certain of the parts before proper flight is possible. Such adjustment usually requires several trial flights, and due to the misadjustment of the parts flight is erratic. Thus by the time the toy plane has been adjusted for proper flight much, and some times all, of its flight life has been spent. Furthermore the construction of toy planes as heretofore devised has been such that under the most favorable conditions the life is very limited, due to the fact that stability has been lacking and weight has been too great.

The general object of my invention is to ,rovide a toy aeroplane which shall be more durable than those heretofore. devised.

Another object of my invention is to proride a toy aeroplane that shall be inherently stable to the end that it may be flown without the necessity of adjusting any of the parts, thereby eliminating the trial flights hertofore necessary in toy aeroplane flying.

Other objects of my invention are to improve the details of construction to the end that the plane shall be rigid; shall be light in Weight; shall resist forces tending to cant or modify the position of the main plane; shall simplify the work of preparing plane for flight; shall enable the attain.- ment of flight at higher speeds and for longer periods; and shall generally improve the performance of the plane.

My invention consists generally in the form, arrangement, construction, and coaetion of the parts whereby the above named objects, together with others that will appear hereinafter, are attainable, and my in vention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate what I consider, at the present time, to be the best embodiment thereof.

In said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of an aeroplane embodying my invention.

beam 1 which projects therethrough.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof/ Fig.3 is a perspective view of the means forsecuring the propeller to the motor base orbeam.

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view. substantially on the line H of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail view substantially along-the line 5-5 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 6 is a detail. view substantially along the line 66 of Fig. 5.

In order that the proportions onsizes of the parts may be better understood, it be stated that the principal views, Figs. 1 and 2 are drawn to a scale of slightly more than one-half the size of a plane which I have successfully built and marketed. The thickness of some of the parts has been somewhat accentuated more clearly to disclose the construction. With respect to the thickness of the main wing and tail parts,

it may be stated that, in practice, I have made them from balsa wood, having a thickness of substantially three-siXty-fourths of an inch. The motor base or beam is somewhat thicker, being substantially one-sirteenths of an inch.

The plane is composed of a motor base or beam 1 which. tapers toward the tail structure 2. 3 represents the main plane which is properly curved and set at an angle best adapted to maintain lateral balance.

The main plane is attached to the motor beam in a novel manner. That is to say. it is slotted at 4 to accommodate the motpr n order to. maintain the proper angle of the main plane a wedge 5 is interposed between the upper surface of the plane and the under surface or edge 6 of the beam. or motor base, as is best shown in Fig. 4.. These parts when thus assembled are glued together,

thus forming a rigid and substantial connection which prevents canting of the main plane and which also efiectively prevents disturbance of the angle of incidence.

The beam 1 is likewise fitted into a slot 7 in the tail. plane 8 and the rudder plane 9 has a portion 10 which depends into a slot 11 in the tail plane 8. The parts are furthermore glued together when thus assembled. The construction has proven in practice to be a very substantial one. For actuating the plane a propeller 12 is provided, rotation of the propeller being aecomplished by twisting the stout rubber band 13 which is fixed at one end to an eye 1 1 that is attached to the tail of the ma chine and to an-eye 15 that is a part of the propeller shaft 16. By rotating the propeller when in the full line position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 until the rubber band has been twisted until substantially knotted throughout, which ordinarily would be about two hundred revolutions, the plane will fly at a speed of approximately four miles per hour. Due to the fact that the entire plane weighs only approximately onequarter of an ounce, it can be flown in the house without danger of injury either to the plane itself onto any object thatit may strike. I find in practice that a plane constructed as herein disclosed may be flown a very large number of times without destroying its proper flight characteristics.

When flown out-of-doors or in large rooms it is often desirable to increase the duration or period of flight. This desired result may be accomplished by virtue of the novel. manner in which the propeller is attached to the body of the plane, Thus, it will be observed that the propeller shaft 16 is rotatably mounted in spaced bearings 17 that upstand from a rectangular hollow member 18. The member 18 is of a size snugly to receive the end 1' of the motor beam. The rubber band holds the member 18 upon the beam since it is always in tension. Thus the member 18 maybe readily removed from the beam 1, as for example to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1 which distends or elongates the rubber band, making it possible to twist it a larger number of times. Thus, with a given plane and with a given rubber band a longer period of flight is made possible. Inasmuch as the toy will usually be flown by children. it is desirable to facilitate as much as possible the winding operation, and to this end I have provided a hook 19 which can be caught into any convenient object or material so that upon pulling the member 18 the plane will remain stationary. This will enable a boy to distend the rubber band to a greater length and will afford free use of the hands to such an extent that the windin can be more easily performed.

The many advantageous characteristics of into said slot.

2. it toy areoplane embodying therein a beam, a main plane positioned transversely thereof, and having a slot centrally therein, saic slot extending from the front edge of the main plane rearwardly thereof, said beam extending into said slot.

3. A toy areoplane embodying therein a beam, a main plane positioned transversely thereof, and having a slot therein, said slot extending from the front edge rearwardly thereof, said beam extending into said slot, and means positioning and holding the face of the main plane at an angle to the beam.

l. A toy areoplane embodying therein a beam, a main plane, a tail plane and a propeller all carried thereby, and formed, positioned and fixed in proper relation for flight without the necessity of adjustment, said main plane having a slot therein extending from the front ed e rearwardly and said beam entering said slot, thereby interlorle ing the parts so that the proper correlation is retained.

5. A toy areoplane embodying therein a frame, stop means for use when storing energy in the propeller actuating means, a propeller detachably secured to the frame, and means for actuating the propeller, said means being attached at one end to the means caried by the frame and at the other end to the propeller.

it toy areoplane embodying therein a frame, a hook for use when storing energy in the propeller actuating means, a propeller detacl'iably secured to the frame, and means for actuating the propeller, said means being attached at one end to the means carried by the frame and at the other end. to the propeller.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, this 24th day of April, D. 1922 HARRY n. WELLS. 

